Cartagena is a city where sexual and gender diversity is growing increasingly more prevalent. In the streets of the city, visitors can see homages to the LGBTQ+ community much more than in previous years. 

For the month of June, which celebrates Pride in Cartagena, the mayor's office has prepared an inclusive and unique agenda to shows how the Corralito de Piedra has evolved in favor of diversity over the last few years. 

"We enthusiastically support all the agenda and other actions that advocate for the respect, guarantee and recognition of LGBTQ+ rights," said Cielo Blanco Flórez, Secretary of Participation and Social Development.

The events began on June 16, with a tour recognizing of the rights of the community, and will continue over the next few days with discussions on homosexuality, political action, and a graffiti showcase in the historic center of the city to raise awareness and mobilize the LGBTQ+ community. 

These event, which will run until the end of the month, will culminate with a Pride March — a parade that crosses the main avenue of the city and showcases the faces of the community in Cartagena.

An LGBTQ+ community threatened 

According to the report "Prejudice Knows No Borders," more than 1,300 LGBTIQ+ people were murdered between 2014 and 2019 in Latin America and the Caribbean, excluding figures from Brazil.

Despite the Constitutional Court of Colombia issuing more than 120 sentences in 2019, its Congress passing five laws and two executive decrees guaranteeing their rights, acts of violence and discrimination towards the population have not stopped or decreased. According to the report, between 2014 and 2019, 549 LGBTQ+ people were murdered in Colombia.